I’m not sure whether being called “a horrible man” by the person who wrote an entire book in praise of George W. Bush (Ambling Into History) is necessarily a bad thing. However … I don’t for the life of me understand how Frank Bruni—a man of limited, but undeniable intelligence—can call someone ‘a horrible man’ when they’ve never spent any time with him. This is like reviewing a restaurant without eating the food. It’s also extremely silly. Unless, of course, you’re in the process of selling a book and are desperate for attention, as is clearly the case with little Frankie.

McNally has demonstrated a flair for this sort of sparring in the past. We hope very much that Bruni, like New York‘s Adam Platt, can be goaded into a second helping of BEEF.